Boat raising and lowering gear.



E EKBLOM BOAT RAISING AND LOWERING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.9, 19 11.

Patented Feb. 5, 1918.

INVENTOF? M ATTORNEY EXEL EKBLor/r, or LoNnoN, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF ro ALFRED CHARLES VALOGNE, or LONDON, ENGLAND.-

BOAT RAISING AND LOWERIN'G GEAR.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Feb. 5, 1'91.

Application fileii October 9, 1917. Serial No. 1195,5602}.

To all wlwmz't may concern:

Be it known that I, EXEL EKBLOM, a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and resident of 181 Upton Lane, Forest Gate, London 13., England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Connected with Boat Raising and Lowering Gears, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to lowering tackle for boats, particularly life saving boats carried on ships.

The general method of launching lifeboats from ships is by means of rope and pulley tackle, known as falls, from davits it being customary to fill the boat when about level with the deck and to then lower it to the water. In a calm" sea this may be a safe procedure but if a vessel is large and a heavy sea is running it will roll considerably and as a loaded boat is lowered it will, when the vessel leans toward it, be swung away from the side of the vessel and when the vessel leans in the opposite way will be swung and violently bumped against the side of the vessel thus often breaking the boat and losing the lives of the persons therein.

My invention is designed to provide means whereby this violent swinging of the boat is prevented but the lowering is not interfered with.

The invention may be broadly described as consisting in providing a lead-block to one or both of the boat falls through which the ropes of the falls pass and which in a general way descends with the falls and is raised with them when they are pulled up after the lowered boat is released.

The lead-block preferably comprises an iron fork or grid-like frame having in it one or more pairs of rollers on parallel spindles, say six rollers, three on each spindle. The spindles are spaced apart so that some of the ropes of the falls may pass between the two sets of rollers and some between one set of the rollers and the inside of the frame. This lead-block is furnished with means by which it can be attached tov the side of the ship or held by a person thereon, for example, the block may be connected by an adjustable rope or by pulley tackle to a vertical wire or jack stay on the vessel and upon which the coupling at the end of the rope or tackle travels. The length of this rope or tackle determines the length of the swing to and fro of the boat in relation to the ships side and if tackle isemployed it may be manipulated by a man on the vessel or in the boat so as to be reduced or lengthened at will.

It will be understood that the lead-block when so made rises and falls in substantially horizontal manner, that is to say with the rollers in approximately the same horizontal plane. The lead-block may be attached to the rope or tackle by any suitable means, such as by a hook and eye, and a second eye may be employed to receive a line by which the lead-block can be fastened to the'lower pulley block of the falls.

1 will now describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows one of my leadblocks in plan.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, and Fig. 3 is an end View.

Fig. 4 shows how a lead-block can be at tached to the bottom block of the falls.

Fig. 5 shows the appliance in use at the side of a vessel and indicates by dotted lines the position a boat will assume when the vessel is lying at an angle.

Fig. 6 shows another method of using the appliance.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 the appliance comprises a frame a furnished with six rollers Z) and provided with an eye 0. The rollers are mounted on spindles cl which can be easily removed and replaced to facilitate plzlicing the frame over the ropes e of the fa ls.

It is desirable that the lead-block shall descend as the boat is lowered and to insure this it may be attached to the lower block of the falls. An example of this attachment is shown in Fig. 4 in which an eye 7 is provided on the underside of the lead-block and is attached by a, cord 9 to cleat h on the side of the block.

Referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the boat a is suspended by falls j from da-vits 7r; and that one of my lead-blocks a is connected by tackle Z to a jack stay on on the side of the vessel. The tackle Z will descend with the boat and can be lengthened and shortened at will by a person therein. The dotted lines indicate that although the vessel is inclined at a steep angle the boat does not swing away from its side and consequently the smashing of the boat when the vessel lurches in the opposite direction is entirely prevented.

In Fig. 6 the lead-block a is shown controlled by tackle a which is handled on board the vessel.

- Copies of this patent may be obtained for It will be obvious that the frame, rollers, and other parts can be made in many forms within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A lead-block for the falls of boats comprising a frame having provision to receive the ropes of the falls and adapted to travel up and down thereonwith means for attaching the frame to a vessel.

2. A lead-block for the falls of boats, comprising an openwork frame furnished with rollers and provided with eyes, for the purpose of attaching the frame to tackle which can be held to the side of a vessel.

A lead-block for the falls of boats comprising a frame having provision to receive the ropes of the falls and adapted to travel up and down thereon with means for attaching the frame to a vessel, said frame having means for attaching it to the lower block of the boat falls.

' 4. A lead-block for the falls of boats, comprising an openwork frame furnished with rollers and provided with eyes, for the purpose of attaching the frame to tackle which can be held to the side of a vessel said frame having means for attaching it to the lower block of the boat falls.

5. The combination of boat falls with a lead-block fitted to the ropes thereof, and adapted to travel up and down thereon and of adjustable tackle by which the lead-block can be connected to the side of a vessel.

6. A means for preventing the swinging of boats when lowered at a vessels side, comprising a block adapted to fit over and to travel up and down with the falls of a boat and furnished with means whereby it can be attached to the vessel.

7 A means for preventing the swinging of boats when lowered at a vessels side, comprising a block adapted to fit over and to travel up and down with the falls of a boat and furnished with means whereby it can be held from the vessel.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand. in presence of two witnesses.

EXEL EKBLOM.

Witnesses:

HENRY FAIRBROTHER, LILY PARRY.

five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. C. 

